My son is a Ryanair contractor and as a Capt. he gets EURO 125 per scheduled block hour. He came through from being a Brookfield FO to a Capt with Ryanair 18 months ago. He works 850 plus hours a year for them and I helped him fill in his tax return and he made approx EURO 104,000 gross in 2005.
They have given him a base in Stansted which suits him. He has been offered a base in Dublin, Rome and Bergamo over the last month. He has to pay 4.50 per hour deduction which includes his SIM and other items.
I loaned him half the money for his type rating and we are very proud of him and the way he paid us and the bank back over the last 3 years.
My son's best friend finished his Type rating last week in CAE and is being base trained by Ryanair in East Midlands on next Thursday. His folks are travelling over for the event. A big day for proud parents!
He plans to go and work for Ryanair on a Brookfield contract. He has high Jar25 hours so will get EURO 65 per scheduled hour while an FO. He will be in Dublin - so his folks keep an eye on him while he pays back his loans!
They both seem to enjoy Ryanair so far and the older one says things are improving day by day. I know this will invite flames from some other PPruners but I can only share one families experience.
I have two other children who I paid for their College education. This cost almost as much as helping the lad with the Type Rating. The pilot son is earning far more than the two college kids ever will. My wife and I saw it as a good investment.